The Station
by Curious Archer
Summary: When Tilly drops by the station to see Detective Rogers for their weekly game, she doesn't expect to find Margot hanging around. And when Weaver quickly swoops in and asks her to keep Margot company while he deals with her mother, well, Tilly's only too happy to give him a hand. Curious Archer


When Tilly reached the station that morning, she already had a feeling that Rogers would be unable to find a few minutes for their weekly game. It left her with a slight knot in her stomach because the last time he had been too busy for her, something bad had happened involving that awful Eloise Gardener. However, on that morning, Tilly had woken with a feeling in her like something bad was going to happen and as worried as she was, she didn't actually have that same feeling today… In fact she had a very different kind of feeling inside her instead. One, like maybe today wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

Entering the station only confirmed Tilly's earlier worries that something wasn't right today, despite the good feeling she had still lying on top of that worry. The station was alive with busy activity and Rogers was nowhere to be seen. Tilly hesitated in the doorway, knowing he didn't like it when she just walked straight through into his office anymore but unsure of what else to do. She wandered shyly up to the front desk, already preparing to be turned away by the familiar front officer who had never seemed to like her, not even from the moment when they first met.

Sure enough, the older man looked up at her and his eyes narrowed slightly. It wasn't necessarily that he disliked her or anything – he didn't even know her – but he found her as odd as everyone else and her oddness often made people uncomfortable and uncomfortable people often lashed out. He held his tongue when Rogers was around, but when it was just the two of them, he always did his best to get rid of her as soon as possible while being none too subtle about it.

Finally she reached his desk and he opened his mouth before she had a chance. Tilly could already hear the sharp reply he had at the ready to dismiss her as quickly as possible. But before he could say it, a different voice cut in and called out to her.

"Tilly!"

She looked up in surprise. "Oh, hey, Weaver!"

The older detective walked over to her, something bright in his expression like when he gets an idea to catch someone out with a sneaky – and more often than not, unethical – plan. Tilly always enjoyed that look because it normally ended in quite a bit of fun whenever she was involved but now, for whatever reason, the look was directed straight at her for once and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Glad you're here." Weaver said, placing a hand on her back and leading her passed the main desk and away from the grumpy officer who had already turned away, no longer interested in her now that she had Weaver by her side.

"I was actually coming by to see Rogers," Tilly explained but didn't resist Weaver's guidance.

"He's busy on a case at the moment." Weaver explained briskly. "But I could do with a hand if you're feeling up to it."

"Uh, sure." Tilly said, feeling more than a little puzzled. After all, it had been a while since Weaver had asked her for any favours.

"Good. This way." Weaver pulled her down a corridor into a room usually reserved for interviewing victims. It was much nicer than the interrogation room but it still left Tilly's nerves on edge like something big was waiting for her on the other side of the door.

"What's this about?" Tilly began but stopped short as the door was pushed open and she saw there was someone waiting for them inside the room. And it turned out to be quite a familiar face. "Margot…"

"Tilly." Margot said, instantly standing up to greet her, though at the same time, she didn't look very in the mood for greeting people right now. In fact she looked very pale and almost like she was going to be sick.

"Oh good, you two know each other. That saves us some time." Weaver said quickly.

"Why? What's going on?" Tilly blinked, looking back at him.

"I need you to do me a favour and stay with Margot for a few hours," Weaver explained, placing a gentle hand on her elbow as he did. "Her mother is in trouble and I'm going to help her but while I do that, I need you to keep her daughter company. She's a bit worried for her and she could use a friend."

"Yeah, sure." Tilly said quickly then felt herself blush at her own enthusiasm and shrugged casually. "You know, as a favour for you."

"Of course." Weaver said, the slightest smile pulling at the corner of his lips and a knowing look in his eye. He turned back to the door. "I'll be back soon with some drinks. For now, sit tight."

After Weaver had shut the door behind him, Tilly awkwardly turned back to Margot. She smiled shyly and giving her a little wave. "Hi again."

"Hey," Margot said, smiling back but it still didn't quite reach her eyes.

Tilly hesitated at the sight of her sad expression before she stiffly wandered over to her side, nervous about overstepping. Weaver may have asked for her help, but it was entirely possible that Margot just wanted to be alone. However, when Margot didn't say anything or try moving away from her, Tilly slowly sat down on the sofa blue sofa the other girl had previously been waiting on before their arrival. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Margot nodded, still smiling the same smile as she sat back down beside her.

Tilly paused and glanced around the room. It was an attempt at a nice room at least. There were pale blue shades on the floor and walls (the colour was probably chosen in order to be calming) with white blinds over the window, and a soft chair for them to sit on just behind a small brown coffee table. There was even a bookshelf on the wall opposite but it was half empty with faded, decades-old magazines, a few out of date newspapers and books with spines and covers that were both broken and faded. Tilly was beginning to feel like she'd rather the interrogation room to this one. This room was just so damn sad. No wonder Margot was looking so miserable in it, though Tilly have a feeling there was more to it than that.

Knowing she had to do something, Tilly reached over and placed her hand carefully over the top of Margot's where she had it clenched together with the other on her lap. "I'm still here if you want to talk." She said gently. "You know. Like before."

Margot finally looked up at her again and smiled, this time making it much more genuine. "The truth is… I'm worried. There's someone after my mum."

"Who?" Tilly blinked.

"I don't know. Apparently there's this serial killer hunting people down with a calling card of candy boxes or something." Margot mumbled.

"The Candy Killer…" Tilly whispered, eyes widening with shock.

"You know him?" Margot asked, looking at her sharply.

"I know about him…" Tilly said, glancing away from her before pulling a face down at her feet. "And he uh… Kind of tried to frame me for it."

"Wait really?" Margot said, doing a double take to stare at her openly now.

"I think so. I'm not really sure." Tilly admitted, looking down at her feet, suddenly wondering why Weaver had asked her to do this of all things. She felt like she was admitting to something dark and awful and even though she knew it wasn't her fault, she still worried what Margot was going to say now that she knew. Tilly chose what she said next carefully, afraid the whole truth might scare Margot off. "I lost my bag and when I found it, some evidence was in there that the killer took. I nearly got in trouble but Detective Rogers later proved I was innocent."

Margot looked shocked, shaking her head at her. "This is crazy!"

"Welcome to the Heights," Tilly said jokingly, trying to make light of the situation but when Margot looked at her, her eyes were glazed over with almost tears and Tilly felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry…"

"What if something happens to my mum?" Margot croaked.

"Hey, it'll be okay." Tilly said, taking both her hands now. "Detective Weaver is a really good cop. He'll find whoever is doing this and stop them before anything bad happens to her. I know he will."

Margot gave her a weak smile, clearly not believing her. "Thanks." She mumbled.

Tilly hesitated. She wanted to help her somehow, but she didn't know what to do. She'd never had to deal with someone who was worried about the serial killer currently hunting down their parent. How did you comfort someone when that was their baggage?

Something caught Tilly's eye from across the room and after a slight pause, she found herself standing up sharply. It was mostly just for something to do but once she started walking over towards the bookshelf, she felt more confident about it and picked up speed slight, leaving Margot to stare after her.

Silently, she reached out and pulled a small blue book from the middle shelf into her hands, turning it over slowly and examining it with a slight frown. It certainly had one of the worst covers of the entire shelf, a blue hardback that was peeling off at the edges with almost all of the writing on the blurb having faded away. Along with that, it had a torn spine that was so badly broken, it was barely holding itself together anymore. The pages inside were yellow and brittle like they had been wet and left in the sun to dry. Finally, the picture on the front – that hadn't faded along with the writing – had been scribbled on with a thick black maker, making it almost unreadable. In fact, if it weren't for the barely still visible title on the spine, she probably wouldn't have known what it was at all.

Carrying it back to her seat beside Margot, Tilly dropped down by her side and lay the book down clearly on her lap, smiling at it. She waited, purposely stroking the cover gently and not saying anything until Margot's curiosity got the better of her and she finally looked up at her.

"What's that?" Margot asked finally.

"Alice In Wonderland." Tilly said proudly, then noted. "It's your favourite. Right?"

"Yeah…" Margot mumbled, the slightest smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "Yeah, it is."

"How come?" Tilly asked, opening the book and turning the pages slowly to the first chapter.

"I dunno." Margot admitted. "I just always liked it… I liked the main character."

"Really?" Tilly grinned. "I always thought she was kind of whiny. I mean, I like the story but none of the character portrayals ever seemed to sit right with me."

"Oh come on, she's cute." Margot said lightly.

"I guess," Tilly mumbled, turning the pages. "Is it just Alice or are you a big reader in general?"

Margot knew what Tilly was doing. She was trying to distract her, to give her a few minutes of not thinking about the danger that her mother was in and to focus on something else more simple and light hearted. And Margot was so grateful for it. Because it really was what she needed.

As much as she would have loved to go charging out into the street and help save her mother, she also knew that there was no way she could. She would just get in the way if she tried and that would cause problems for the detectives trying to do their job and it would put her mother in even more danger. So despite how frustrating it was, she knew she had to stay out of it. And the only way she was going to manage that was if she was distracted with something else.

"Mostly Alice…" Margot admitted. "There wasn't much time to read when I was travelling and I could only carry so much at a time… So that was the only book I always took with me everywhere I went."

"It really is your favourite." Tilly grinned.

"Yeah… What's yours?" Margot asked.

"Don't really have a favourite, to be honest." Tilly shrugged. "I mostly read lots of different stuff." She paused. "But there had been one I wanted to try that I still haven't got around to…"

"What's that?" Margot asked.

"Robin Hood." Tilly shrugged. "I saw it on the day we met and I figured I'd give it a try. Only every time I give it a go, something comes up."

"I've read that." Margot nodded suddenly. "It's good."

The two fell quiet, unconsciously leaning towards one another before Tilly finally shifted the book so it was sat between the two of them. In silent agreement, they began reading the book together, each taking a turn to read one page out loud at a time. They began giggling as they took turn to put on voices for the characters and Margot couldn't fight the laughter whenever Tilly physically cringed at some of the corny moments she had forgotten about.

It was a good distraction and for a short time, Margot actually allowed herself to forget about her earlier worries. She began leaning completely against Tilly, curled up on the sofa, as they read her favourite story together so naturally, it was like they had done it a thousand times before.

They became so lost in the story that didn't realise how much time had passed until the door opened unexpectedtly and Weaver appeared. He walked in carrying a bag in one hand and pair of drinks balanced in the other.

"Thought you might be hungry," He noted, walking over and setting the bags down on the table in front of them.

"Thanks, Weaver," Tilly grinned eagerly, reaching over and snatching up the bag up to the space on the seat beside her, happy to see a familiar marmalade sandwich waiting inside.

"Yeah, thanks." Margot smiled tightly. "Uh, any news on my mum?"

"She's safe." Weaver confirmed. "She's gotten some help from an outside source but she needs you to stay here, out of the way, just for a few hours."

Margot glanced towards the window. "It's already getting dark…" She noted quietly.

"It'll be okay," Weaver said, giving her a friendly smile. "Your mother is in good hands. I promise."

Margot hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something else before she changed her mind and just nodded her head in silence. She sat back in her seat, jostling the book slightly and slouching down. Tilly glanced at her nervously before she thanked Weaver once more, leaning back and passing Margot a sandwich from the bag.

"If you need anything else, stick your head out the door and give me a call. I'm not far away." Weaver said finally before turning and leaving the two girls alone again.

"Everything will work out." Tilly said after a moment. "Weaver won't let you down."

"You trust him?" Margot asked suddenly.

"Yes." Tilly said without hesitation.

"Why?" Margot frowned. "I mean… What's the story with you two?" She hesitated then added. "I'll be honest, he always seems like a bit of a brute."

Tilly glanced at the door then back again, shaking her head. "Weaver? No way! He's a softie deep down. He just needs to act tough to get the job done but when he's free… Well, he's a good guy."

"Really?" Margot raised an eyebrow at her. "A softie? Never thought I'd hear anyone describe him like that."

Tilly grinned, holding up the sandwich. "I used to run away a lot when I was a kid and Weaver was the guy they originally assigned to track me down when I did. He was always pretty decent about it. He didn't lie to me or trick me like some of the other people. I actually liked the rides home with him and after a while, I guess he saw something in me because we started this thing where I do favours for him and then he buys me lunch. He hasn't really ask for much of anything lately, but if we run into each other, he always asks if I've eaten anything, then gets me lunch if I haven't. And he's constantly checking up on people, though he tries to hide it." She dropped the second sandwich onto Margot's lap. "And he brought you food too."

Margot wet her lips then accepted the sandwich with a small smile. "Okay." She shrugged. "I guess he's okay. I mean, he's watching out for me now, isn't he?"

"Yeah… He's not the only one, you know." Tilly said gently.

"Thank you." Margot said sincerely. "For wasting your day with me."

Tilly shook her head. "It wasn't a waste."

They shared a smile and for a second it seemed like they were going to lean towards each other when the book suddenly slid off their lap and hit the floor. It wasn't loud but it still made them jump before they giggled, reaching down and picking it back up. After finding where they left off, the two girls ate their late lunch/early dinner and finished off the story. It turned out to be even more amusing doing it when their mouths were half full of bread.

Not long after they had finished both the book and their food, did the door was swing open. The girls, who had been leaning against each other at that time in an almost sleepy fashion, pulled back and looked up sharply as Weaver walked over to them. Maybe it was their imagination, but he seemed to smile when he saw the two of them sitting so close to one another.

"Good news," Weaver said happily. "You can head back. We've caught the killer."

"You did?" Margot gasped.

"Yup. He's safely locked up so you can go home. Come on," He nodded his head, holding the door open for them. "I'll drop you both off."

"Thank you," Margot said earnestly. "For everything."

"Don't mention it," Weaver said, waving his hand at her to go on ahead. The two girls started out the station which was much more quiet than when Tilly had arrived that afternoon and she couldn't resist peeking into the familiar office on her left but Detective Rogers wasn't there. Probably still handling the case Weaver mentioned earlier.

The older detective led them from the building and towards his car where he climbed in the front and watched as the two of them settled in the back, side by side. He pretended to take the time to adjust the rear-view mirror and had to fight the smile pulling at his face. Even when he was with them, they only had eyes for each other and he might as well have just been a hired taxi driver for all the attention they gave him.

Not that he minded in the slightest. In fact he was enjoying his front row seat. The girls deserved this quiet time together with just the two of them. They had so little of it before the curse was cast.

"You must be relieved." Tilly said casually as they started off.

"I really am. You have no idea." Margot sighed, stretching her legs as far as she could under Weaver's seat.

"Hey, do you mind if I ask… About your dad?" Tilly said slowly.

"He's not around." Margot said immediately, shrugging. "I never really knew him. He and my mum weren't even official and then he died in this car crash when I was still a baby." She paused. "They say it was his fault…" She shook her head like she was changing her mind about telling that story after all. "What about your parents?"

Tilly looked away, smiling sadly. "Who knows. My dad died too and my mum ran off right after. I grew up in a home. That's why I was always running away."

Weaver resisted the automatically pull that wanted to roll his eyes and snort at the ridiculous memories these girls had been given about their fathers. Robin's father was a hero who sacrificed himself for the woman he loved – not a dithering idiot who died texting and driving. And of course Alice had no idea, but she was currently living with her loving father.

Unfortunately Weaver was forced to keep his mouth shut and watch them in amused silence. He once again looked forward to the curse being broken for more reason than one.

"That sucks. I'm sorry." Margot said softly.

"It's okay." Tilly shrugged. "Everyone's got their own story, after all."

"That's true," Margot agreed. "Some more sucky than others."

Weaver slowed the car down, pulling up outside Roni's where Margot was currently staying in the upstairs apartments with her mother. He parked just outside the front door and glanced back at her. "There ya go, Margot. Have a nice night."

"Thanks again," Margot said, climbing and walking around the car before pausing and turning back to Tilly's window, tapping it lightly until Weaver rolled it down for her. "Oh and by the way, Tilly… I'd really like to know the rest of your story some day."

Tilly felt herself grinning widely. "Me too… Your story, I mean." She said happily.

With one last shared smile, Margot waved at her as she turned away and jogged inside. Tilly watched her go for a moment until she had completely turned away before she quickly climbed into the front seat. The two of them waited for Margot to get through the door before Weaver put the car in drive and pulled away, heading to Rogers apartment next.

"I appreciate you doing that for me, Tilly." Weaver said after they had turned the corner and bar was no longer within sight.

"No problem, it was fun." Tilly smiled.

"Oh yeah?" Weaver smirked. "You like her then?"

"Yeah," Tilly said immediately then blushed and shrugged. "I mean, what's not to like? She's nice."

"She is," Weaver agreed, nodding his head.

Tilly hesitated, watching him as he drove. "Why'd you ask me to do it?"

"What do you mean?" Weaver asked.

"Why'd you ask me to keep her company?" Tilly said. "You've never asked me to do anything like that before…"

Weaver took a deep breath, considering his answers. He didn't want to lie to her. Not if he could help it. "Times are changing, Tilly. Not just people, but the whole of the Heights. Things are going to get even more crazy than they've ever been before."

"I don't understand…" Tilly frowned. "You caught the killer, didn't you?"

"I'm not talking about the Candy Killer." Weaver said. "I can't explain just yet but… Just trust me that it's good for you to make the right kind of friends. And I want you to be careful with who else you talk to, okay?" He paused, then rolled a shoulder uncomfortable. He wished he could just tell her everything. It would make life so much easier. "What I'm trying to say is… Stay away from anyone associated with Eloise, okay? And make sure Margot does the same."

Tilly was already nodding her head before he'd even finished talking. "Don't have to tell me twice." She mumbled. "She's… Distorted."

"What do you mean?" Now it was Weaver's turn to frown.

"Well, it's hard to explain but it's like when I saw her back at the station that time. You know when you look in a broken mirror or through broken glass and it's all foggy and distorted and it just looks wrong? Well that was what it was like when I saw her on the cameras. Her everything was all distorted like she was a monster or something…" Tilly explained.

"I understand." Weaver said, nodding his head. "So you'll stay away from her? And keep Margot away from her as well?"

Tilly's went quiet again. "Well. I can't really do much about Margot. I mean, we've only had like, three conversations since she got to town."

"Yeah well… Just in case those three conversations turn into anything else," Weaver said with another smirk, pulling up outside Rogers apartment. "Have a good night, Tilly. And thanks again for the help. I owe you."

Tilly climbed out and leaned in through the doorway, grinning at him. "One marmalade sandwich ought to do it!"


End file.
